This invention relates to knives, and, more particularly, to a knife with a fabric cutting implement thereon.
A situation commonly encountered in emergency services work is the rescue of a person trapped in an automobile. The trapped person is constrained by a heavy fabric seat belt. Depending upon the orientation of the vehicle, all or part of the weight of the person may be supported by the seat belt. It may be impossible for the emergency services worker to release the person by operating the usual seat belt release, because the clothing of the trapped person may be wrapped around the release, because the weight of the trapped person suspended by the seat belt prevents the mechanical operation of the release, because of damage to the release, or because of damage to the vehicle that prevents the rescuer from reaching the release.
In such situations, the rescuer must cut the seat belt to free the trapped person, and sometimes must first cut away part of the clothing of the trapped person to reach the seat belt. The cutting must be accomplished quickly and without cutting the trapped person or the rescuer. In some instances, the cutting of the seat belt must be accomplished in the dark, in a very cramped space if the passenger compartment has been collapsed by damage to the vehicle, in the presence of smoke or fire, and sometimes under a combination of all of these adverse conditions.
At the present time, emergency services personnel use various techniques for cutting the seat belt when necessary. Shears can be used, but they are not easily operated in a cramped space and in any event do not readily cut the seat belt fabric. (Household scissors are simply not capable of cutting the heavy fabric.) The seat belt fabric can be cut with a very sharp knife placed between the trapped person and the belt, with the sharpened portion of the blade against the seat belt, and pulled outwardly. There is the danger that, under the adverse conditions of the rescue, the knife may be incorrectly oriented or that the trapped person or the rescuer may be cut. It may also be possible to use a Jack Safety Knife to cut seat belts. The Jack Safety Knife includes a two-part plastic frame that supports two razor blades at an angle to each other to form a cutting region. Such a knife has a large spacing at the opening to the cutting region so that the trapped person or rescuer may be cut during the use of the knife, involves multiple parts, and is not sufficiently robust for many situations.
There is a therefore a need for an implement including a fabric cutter that can be used by emergency services personnel to free trapped persons by cutting the seat belt and possibly clothing to first reach the seat belt. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.